


The Wrong Child

by Flurrbee



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, Medical Inaccuracies, Mentor/Protégé, Protective Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Role Reversal, Sensory Overload
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2020-07-08 07:29:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19865797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flurrbee/pseuds/Flurrbee
Summary: During a medical emergency, Tony gets a blood transfusion from Peter. Afterwards, Tony picks up some of Peter’s enhanced traits. Tony learns a lot, but he doesn’t always handle the experience well.Takes place sometime after Spider-Man: Homecoming.





	1. 1. Fall On Me

**Author's Note:**

> I still need to write the epilogue for “More Than A Weapon”, but I’ve been playing arround with this piece and needed to get it started. 
> 
> I’m sure that somewhere there’s something official about what all the characters’ blood types are. Whatever it is, I’m ignoring that. Also I have no real medical knowledge, so it’s all made up. 
> 
> The story title and chapter titles come from R.E.M. songs.

_Buy the sky and sell the sky._

_And bleed the sky and tell the sky, Don't fall on me._

_Don't fall on me._

_Well I would keep it above, but then it wouldn't be sky any more._

_So if I send it to you, you've got to promise to keep it whole._

  * “Fall on Me” R.E.M.




*************

Peter used some of his super strength to help apply pressure while Tony lay on the medical table. The man was unconscious and bleeding profusely from his wounds. 

Peter and Rhodes each had minor injuries from the mission, mostly superficial cuts and some bruises. Peter suspected his left wrist was broken. Still, treating the two of them could wait. Tony was the one in critical condition, with severe lacerations and internal injuries. 

It was the middle of the night and the compound’s medical staff was down to a skeleton crew. A few nurses were there to help out, but it would be a while before Helen Cho would arrive to perform the needed surgery. 

Bruce was preparing the last of Tony’s own banked blood and it was obvious that it wasn’t going to be enough. The billionaire was still losing blood almost as fast as they could get it in him. If things kept up this way, he wasn’t going to last long. 

“There’s no other O-negative blood? What about the other Avengers?” Rhodes asked. The rogue Avengers were gone, but their stored blood remained in the compound’s blood bank. 

“None of the others are a match,” Bruce said in frustration. 

“Anyone else in the compound?” Peter suggested desperately. 

Bruce shook his head, “Not at this time of night. There’s barely anyone here.”

Peter frowned. “Then we have to use my blood. It’s the only O-negative we have.” He watched his injured mentor fearfully. 

“It’s dangerous,” Bruce pointed out unnecessarily. He called up the latest analysis they had done on Peter’s mutated blood. The simple fact was that they had no way to predict how Tony’s body would react to Peter’s blood. 

Rhodes joined Bruce at the display. “Is there a way to filter out the non-human elements?”

Bruce sighed, “Theoretically, maybe, if we had the time. But we don’t.”

Rhodes grimaced. “You’re going to have to just do the transfusion.”

Reluctantly, Bruce agreed. Using Peter’s blood was risky, but they had no other options. Bruce had a nurse retrieve Peter’s stored blood. 

“We only have a few pints. I’m worried it won’t be enough.” They had just recently started banking Peter’s blood, so there wasn’t a good supply built up yet. 

“Yeah, but I’m here. Can’t we just take it from me and put it in him?” Peter pointed out. 

Rhodes turned to Bruce. “That’s not a bad idea. Can we do a direct transfusion?” 

The procedure would involve running a tube from Peter’s artery to Tony’s vein, allowing Peter’s body to pump blood directly into Tony’s. 

Bruce stepped closer to Rhodes and lowered his voice to a whisper, even knowing that Peter could probably hear him anyway. “We can, but there would be a significant risk. Peter would need to be closely monitored. I don’t know how the sudden blood loss will affect him on top of his current injuries.”

Rhodes nodded and looked at the boy. Nurses had taken over putting pressure on Tony’s wounds, but the Kid still hovered over his mentor. One hand was cradled to his chest, the wrist was most likely broken. He had bruises and cuts on his face and in places where his suit had been ripped. 

Rhodes felt torn. On the one hand, Tony was his best friend and Rhodes would do anything to save him. On the other, he was reluctant to risk the health of a fifteen year old boy. Then again, Peter wasn’t just any fifteen year old and Tony would certainly die if they didn’t do this. 

“Peter’s strong and resilient,” Rhodes told Bruce, “We need to do this.” Peter nodded his agreement, obviously overhearing them . Bruce frowned but agreed as well, seeing no alternative. 

While Peter’s stored blood was transfused into Tony, the team got prepped for the direct blood transfusion. The boy traded his damaged suit for a set of scrubs. When a second medical table was wheeled right next to Tony’s, Peter settled down on it. The nurses put his wrist in a splint and treated his cuts while Bruce did a quick exam to make sure the Kid wasn’t hiding a more severe injury. 

A nurse was assigned to monitor Peter’s vitals at all times. It was going to be difficult to measure the amount of blood being transfused, so careful monitoring was essential to make sure the teen didn’t donate too much blood. 

As soon as they had started transfusing Peter’s stored blood, there were noticeable improvements in Tony’s condition. Once they began the direct transfusion, the effects were remarkable. By the time Helen Cho arrived, Tony had stabilized somewhat, although his condition was still serious. Helen gave Bruce a hopeful look before Tony and Peter were wheeled into the operating room.

Rhodes and Bruce waited anxiously. Bruce would have preferred to be in the operating room, but he knew the room would be crowded enough and he really had no role to play in the surgery. So they both waited on uncomfortable chairs.

It was hours before the two were wheeled back out and settled into the recovery area. Peter was brought out first, pale under his bruises and unconscious, much to the men’s dismay. He was covered in a heavy blanket and his left wrist was set in a red and blue cast. Tony was brought out immediately after, also unconscious, with thick bandages wrapped around his chest and abdomen. Both were attached to IVs and monitors.

Helen emerged from the operating room, sighed heavily, then approached Bruce and Rhodes. The men stood, anxious to hear the news. 

“How’s Tony?” Rhodes asked at the same time that Bruce said, “Why is Peter unconscious?”

Helen gave a slight smile. “Peter’s asleep. He’s okay. Tony is ...better than could be expected.” There was a hint of awe in her voice. 

“What does that mean?” Rhodes asked. 

“I’ve never seen anything like it, like either of them,” Helen said. “Peter’s body seemed to replenish blood as fast as it pumped out of him. We kept them hooked up together almost the entire time. Peter’s vitals never faltered until just before the end. And Tony ...Tony’s body started to heal itself. He needed some sutures, but we could practically see his damaged tissues knitting themselves back together. It was incredible.”

“What happened at the end? With Peter’s vitals?” Bruce asked anxiously.

Helen frowned. “Peter had a small seizure. It happened suddenly, with no warning. He was awake and alert right up until it happened. Afterwards his blood pressure dropped and so did his body temperature. He’s alright now. He’s asleep and we’re giving him fluids through the IV.”

“What caused the seizure?” Rhodes asked with concern. 

Helen paused a moment, glancing at both patients’ monitors. “Like I said, Peter’s body replenished the blood as quickly as he donated it to Tony, so we were able to keep the transfusion going. I doubt there’s a single drop of Tony’s own blood in him at this point. But it must have put a lot of strain on Peter’s body. As you can see, his minor cuts and bruises haven’t even healed yet, which is unusual for him.” 

Rhodes ran a hand over his face. “But he’ll be okay? They’ll both be okay?” 

“Yes,” Helen assured them. “Peter will sleep for a few hours. Tony will be out a while longer, it’s hard to make a guess, since he seems to have picked up Peter’s enhanced healing. Make sure they both eat when they wake and give them plenty of fluids the next couple of days.”

The two men nodded. Then Bruce asked, “What else should we expect? Tony got the healing from Peter, so what else did he get?”

Helen shook her head. “We just don't know. We won’t know that until he’s awake.”


	2. 2. Driver 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony wakes up and has a difficult time adjusting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the positive responses to the first chapter!

_I saw a treehouse on the outskirts of the farm._

_The power lines have floaters so the airplanes don’t get snagged._

_Bells are ringing through the town again._

_The children look up, all they hear is sky-blue, bells ringing._

_And the train conductor says: Take a break, Driver 8, Driver 8, take a break._

_We can reach our destination, but we're still a ways away._

  * “Driver 8” R.E.M.



*************

“Do you think he’ll wake up soon?” Peter asked as he looked from the monitirs to Bruce hopefully. 

The Kid had been awake most of the day, but still seemed a little run down from the blood donation. He insisted on staying near his mentor. Bruce was fine with that, since he wanted to keep a close eye on the boy anyway. Rhodes hung out in the infirmary as well, using the time to catch up on paperwork. 

“I think he might. He is healing amazingly quickly.” Bruce observed with a bit of awe. He had changed Tony’s bandages recently and was surprised to find that he wounds were almost completely healed. 

“Do you think he got anything else from me?” Peter asked anxiously, echoing Bruce’s own question to Helen. 

Bruce shrugged. “There’s no way to tell until he wakes up. But I won’t be surprised if he has some of your spidery traits for a few days. You’ll need to stick around and help him through that.” 

“I’m staying at the compound all week for spring break anyway,” Peter informed him before studying the monitors again. 

It was just over an hour later when Tony started to groan and stir. Peter watched as Tony’s eyes opened a bit, only to immediately close again with a pained grunt and a sharp breath. 

“FRIDAY, room settings to Parker Three,” Peter quickly instructed the AI. The lights dimmed considerably, everything got quiet, the room temperature began to warm up, the scent of antiseptic diminished, and even the air pressure in the room shifted. Sensing the changes, Tony sighed and opened his eyes again. 

“Hey, Spiderling. How are you feeling?” Peter asked, his voice low and soft. 

Tony looked at the Kid questioningly. “Did you hit your head or something? I’m not Spiderling, you are.”

Peter chuckled and told him, “Right now, you get to be Spiderling.” 

Bruce and Rhodes laughed. Tony winced at the sound and then frowned, not getting the joke. “Did you all hit your heads?” he muttered. Tony turned to Rhodes, “What happened?”

“You got injured on the mission. Do you remember?” the man replied, following Peter’s lead of keeping his voice down. 

“Yeah.” He remembered the mission, the fighting and the intense pain in his gut. Now he felt confused and hungry. His head was pounding. 

Bruce said, “You had deep lacerations to your chest and abdomen as well as internal bleeding. You lost a lot of blood and needed surgery.”

Tony touched the bandages across his chest and stomach, “It feels fine, just a little sore,” he remarked. “How long have I been out?”

“Since last night. About twenty hours,” Bruce told him. 

Tony was stunned that was all. He had expected to be told that he was unconscious for days. It don’t make sense that he wasn’t in more pain, if he had been hurt as badly as they said. He moved to sit up and to his surprise, no one stopped him. Bruce even gave him a cup of water and encouraged him to drink. 

“Rhodey, are you okay?” Tony asked with concern after downing the glass and asking for more. 

“I’m fine, Tones. A little banged up, but not worse for wear.” Rhodes replied. 

Tony nodded at his best friend and then looked to the Kid. Tony was shocked to see the lingering bruises on Peter’s face and the cast on his arm. 

“Pete, what happened to you?” Tony asked. 

Pete gave him an amused smile. “I’m alright, Spiderling. I’m just taking a little longer to heal than usual, that’s all.” 

Tony was confused. He had so many questions. How the hell was he nearly healed of his serious injuries while Peter wasn’t healed of his more minor ones? And how was it that he could tell that they were all whispering, but he could hear them loud and clear? Why was it he knew the lights were dimmed, but he could see as plainly as if they were in full daylight? What was that pounding sound underneath everything? And why was he so hungry?

“What the hell is going on here?” Tony shouted and then immediately regretted his volume. Peter jumped at the sound. 

“Tony, calm down,” Bruce whispered harshly. “You were critically injured and you were losing blood as fast as we could get it in you. You went through your supply of banked blood in no time. After that, there was only one source of O-negative blood available.”

Tony looked from Bruce to Rhodes and then to Peter. The boy looked down guiltily and didn’t meet his eyes. Realization hit him as all the pieces fell into place. 

“You gave me spider blood?” His voice was a mix of outrage and disgust. Then his expression turned furious. “What the fuck did you do to me?” 

Peter winced visibly at the outburst. 

Bruce was offended on the boy’s behalf. “No, we gave you _Peter’s_ blood and it saved your life.” Bruce’s voice was stern and he forgot to whisper. 

“He needs to eat something,” Peter said to Bruce. “He’ll feel calmer after he eats.” 

“That’s a good idea. We should probably all eat something,” Rhodes said, hoping to settle them all down. “Peter, want to help me grab some food for everyone?” He gently led the boy out if the infirmary. 

Bruce waited for Rhodes and Peter to go, then said harshly, “Listen to me, Tony. I know you almost died last night and I know that you’re dealing with some weird side effects of Peter’s blood. But the Kid replaced your entire blood supply at risk to his own health. You’re alive because of his spider blood. So you’re just gonna have to put up with these side effects for however long they last. You need to pull yourself together and act like an adult.” 

Tony was about to give a snarky response, when he suddenly realized that Bruce was right. He deflated. “Is Peter alright?”

“Yeah,” Bruce said in a softer voice. “The donation put a huge strain on his body. Helen said he had a seizure towards the end and his healing is more slow right now. But really, he’s more worried about you.”

Tony ran a hand over his face and hung his head, feeling remorseful. 

Just then, Rhodes and Peter returned with a huge tray of sandwiches. Everyone was hungry, so they ate in relative silence, although Peter did little to hide his amusement at how much food Tony ate, which was nearly as much as Peter himself.

“What is that damn pounding?” Tony complained after they finished off the sandwiches. Even he realized how petulant he sounded. 

Rhodes and Bruce looked confused, since neither of them heard anything. 

Bruce spoke quietly, “Is it a headache? We can try some medicine, but I’m not sure what will work.”

“It’s heartbeats,” Peter said. “There are four heartbeats in the room, all together they sound like pounding. But they’re each distinct. Everybody has a unique heartbeat. Can you separate them out?”

Tony shook his head. “No. How?”

Peter explained, “It’s like when you go to a party. When you first walk into the room, it’s just a mess of voices. But once you acclimate, you can recognize the individual voices. The ones you aren’t listening to fade to the background. Heartbeats are the same.”

He moved to sit next to his mentor. “Close your eyes,” he instructed. Tony gave him an annoyed look. “Just close them,” Peter said a little more firmly. Tony huffed a breath and closed his eyes. 

Peter continued. “Ok. There are four heartbeats. We’ll start with yours. Can you pick out the sound of your own heart? You hear it everyday; you just usually aren’t aware of it.”

Tony listened intently, then said, “I can hear mine,” 

“Good,” Peter said approvingly. “Can you visualize it? Like a pulsating light or a vibrating string, whatever works for you.” 

Tony concentrated, then said, “I got it.” 

“Now push it away. Send it to the background of your mind,” Peter instructed. He waited, watching Tony’s face while the man focused on the task. 

“Yeah, okay,” Tony nodded, once he had accomplished it. 

Peter smiled, even though Tony couldn’t see it with his eyes closed. “Alright. We’ll do mine next.” Peter gently picked up Tony’s hand and pressed the man’s fingers to his wrist. “Can you feel my pulse? Can you match my pulse to one of the heartbeats? Mine is faster and higher pitched than the others.”

“I found it,” Tony confirmed with a note of triumph in his voice. “It’s a little fluttery,” he added. 

Peter chuckled, “Yeah, that’s me. Do the same thing, visualize it and then push it to the back of your mind.”

There was a pause, then Tony said, “Got it.”

“Ok, Dr. Banner is next,” Peter said. He moved Tony’s fingers to Bruce’s wrist. “Match his pulse to the beat. His is slower and deep pitched. It’s Banner, but if you listen carefully you can hear the essence of the Hulk under each beat.”

“Yes, I hear it.” Tony sounded a little awestruck. “Now I just visualize it and move it away.”

“That’s right, Spiderling,” Peter said approvingly. He waited until he could see Tony’s expression change a little. Then he continued, “One more. That’s Colonel Rhodey. His heart is beating a little fast today; it must be all the stress you put him through,” Peter teased. 

Rhodes snickered as Tony frowned. Still the billionaire concentrated on the task. “Found it. Visualize it. Push it away,” he talked himself through the exercise. 

Tony’s breath calmed considerably and his face looked more relaxed. 

“You can open your eyes,” Peter said gently. 

Tony did and looked around with a wondrous expression. 

“Is the pounding gone?” Bruce asked, fascinated by what he had just witnessed. 

“Yeah,” Tony replied. “I mean, I can still hear it, but it’s like Pete said. It’s like the background noise at a party. It’s not pounding anymore.” Tony looked at the boy, “You do this all the time?” 

Peter shrugged. “It becomes automatic after a while. But yeah. How do you think I survive all day in classrooms with twenty-some beating hearts and other noises?” 

To be honest, Tony had never thought about it. He knew about Peter’s heightened senses, of course. He knew the Kid had sensory overload on occasion. But he had ever thought about Peter developing strategies like this just to get through day-to-day living. 

Tony knew that he should feel bad for Peter. Or he should feel admiration for Peter. He definitely should feel proud of Peter. He should feel grateful. 

But right then, Tony couldn’t bring himself to feel anything for the boy. Instead, Tony could only think about how he dreaded dealing with spider blood side effects. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony’s going to have a rough time here. Things will get better, things will get worse.... It’s going to be a real roller coaster for him, with Peter along for the ride.


	3. I Believe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes Tony and Peter seem to have a parent-child relationship. Sometimes it’s hard to tell who is the parent and who is the child. 
> 
> Tony gets himself in a sticky situation and needs help getting out of it.

_ I believe in coyotes and time as an abstract.  _

_ Explain the change, the difference between _

_ What you want and what you need.  _

_ There's the key, your adventure for today.  _

_ What do you do between the horns of the day? _

  * “I Believe” R.E.M.



*************

The next morning they had a large breakfast, with Tony again eating almost as much as Peter. Afterwards Helen came back and gave Tony and Peter a thorough check up. Both of them were completely healed. While she expected that from Peter, she was astonished to see it in Tony. 

“Anything unusual? Other than the fast healing, of course?” she asked Tony. 

“No.” Tony lied. 

As Helen removed Peter’s cast, the teen told her about Tony’s sensory overload as well as his increased appetite. 

“Traitor,” Tony muttered. 

“Hey, you don’t let me get away with hiding things from the doctor,” Peter pointed out. 

Tony ignored his sassy protégé and asked Helen, “How long do you think these side effects will last? And will there be any more of them?” 

“It’s impossible to say. There just hasn’t been anything like this before. You could still manifest some of Peter’s powers. And the effects could last a few hours or a couple of months,” she replied. 

“Months?” Tony asked, aghast. 

Helen shrugged. “Traces of donor red blood cells can stay alive in the recipient's body for up to three months. They are constantly being replaced by your own blood, but we just don’t know where the tipping point is for having these effects.” 

“Great,” Tony said sarcastically. Peter looked at the floor guiltily. 

Helen studied both of them, then said to Tony, “Look, I know you’re not happy about this. But it’s temporary. Try to appreciate it for the opportunity it is. You might be grateful for this experience later.”

Tony looked over at Peter and immediately regretted his attitude. He needed to do better, for Peter’s sake. He should see this as a chance to learn something that could help him understand Peter better. 

——————-

They had an early lunch, since Tony got hungry again and didn’t want to wait. They made a ton of pasta, to Peter’s absolute delight. 

“After lunch, you should get your homework done,” Tony said to Peter while they ate. 

“I have all week to do it,” Peter reminded him. 

“And if you get it done today, you’ll have the rest of the week to help me in the workshop and watch movies,” Tony countered. 

Peter was about to protest when Tony stopped him with a gesture. “No arguments. Just get it finished.”

“Fine,” Peter grumbled. 

“Wow. Now that you’ve got the same blood in you, you really are like his Spider-Dad,” Rhodey remarked to Tony. 

“I don’t know about that,” Peter said before Tony could answer. “I mean, he’s got  _ my _ blood in his veins, not the other way around. Technically, wouldn’t that make him  _ my _ Spider-Kid?”

Tony frowned deeply. 

Bruce chuckled, “He’s got you there.” 

“Don’t encourage him,” Tony told Bruce. Then to Peter, “I am not the Spider-Kid. You are the kid, so you are Spider-Kid.”

Peter smirked. “Okay, Spider-Geezer.”

Bruce had the decency to hide his amusement while Rhodey laughed loudly and said, “Tony Stank, Spider-Geezer.” 

—————-

After lunch, Peter went to his room to finish his homework. Rhodey had to go into the City to give a report on the mission. Bruce went to his lab to check on his latest projects. 

Tony headed towards his workshop, but as he passed through the living room, a strange urge came over him. He walked over to the wall and stared at it a moment, then looked up to the two-story high ceiling. Without fully realizing it, he kicked off his shoes and removed his socks. He pressed one hand against the wall and felt it stick. He reached above his head with his other hand and stuck that one to the wall as well. Then he lifted one foot, placed it against the wall and felt it stick. Finally he stuck his other foot to the wall. 

It was an odd sensation in his hands and feet: not quite an itch, not quite the pins and needles feeling of a limb falling asleep. Sticking to the wall was strangely satisfying. After a moment, he started to climb. He started slowly at first, then picked up some speed as he got into the rhythm of it. Before he even realized it, he had reached the tall ceiling. 

Tony transferred to the ceiling easily. He considered standing and walking across it, as Peter often did. But then decided he wasn’t quite ready for that and would be better off continuing to crawl on his hands and feet. 

He made good progress, until he got almost to the center of the ceiling. He paused to catch his breath and look around. He could understand how Peter found this natural and even comforting. Things seemed peaceful up here. Surprisingly, he didn’t feel dizzy or disoriented from hanging upside down. He wondered why that was. 

Then he tilted his head and looked down at the floor. He realized how far up he really was. A thought popped into his mind about how ridiculous it was that he was clinging to the ceiling by his bare hands and feet. Tony didn’t even fully understand how the process worked or how he was staying up there. Suddenly he felt anxious about the situation. His breath quickened. His heart started to race. He had a sense of urgency to get to the closest wall and climb back down. 

Only now, Tony found he couldn’t move at all. He tried to lift one hand from the ceiling, with no success. The same with the other hand and each foot. None of them would move. He tried to slide his hands along the ceiling without lifting them up, but they wouldn’t budge. Same with his feet. He was stuck firmly to the ceiling right where he was. 

“FRIDAY, I need help!” he called out. Tony could feel himself going into a full panic. His heart was racing. His breath was fast and shallow. He could feel the cold sweat on his skin. 

Suddenly, Peter was there next to him on the ceiling, talking in soothing tones. The boy calmly reminded Tony to breathe and kept a steady count of breathing in, holding it, and breathing out. Tony and Peter were both prone to panic attacks and had helped each other through them many times before. The familiarity of the exercise helped Tony just as much as the breathing itself did. After a few minutes, he felt a sense of calm wash over him. Once his breathing and his heart rate settled down, he tried to move his hand again, but nothing happened. 

Peter noticed the effort and frowned. “What kind of trouble did you get yourself into this time, Spiderling?”

Tony rolled his eyes at the familiar question, which usually went in the other direction. “I’m stuck,” he said trying not to sound too pathetic. He noticed that Bruce was standing below them. 

Peter shifted so that he was sitting cross legged on the ceiling and gently tugged at one of Tony’s hands. It didn’t move at all. “Huh. That’s interesting,” the teen remarked. 

“Has this happened to you?” Tony asked with a glimmer of hope. 

Peter nodded. “Once, when I first got my powers. But I was on the wall and about four feet off the floor. How did you get all the way up here before you got stuck?”

“I don’t know. I was fine and then all of a sudden I wasn’t. I just…” his voice trailed off, at a loss to explain what had happened. 

“You started thinking about it too much,” Peter supplied. His tone was understanding, rather than accusatory. 

“Yeah. What did you do, when it happened to you?” Tony asked hopefully. 

“Once I calmed down, instinct kicked in and I unstuck myself,” Peter replied with a shrug. 

“How?” Tony asked a little impatiently. 

“I don’t know,” Peter replied. “It’s like how do you pick up a tool? You don’t think about the muscles and nerves and stuff involved. You just reach out and pick it up. I can’t explain how to unstick.”

“Great,” Tony says frustratedly. “So, now what? I’m stuck up here until god knows how long?”

“Can you just pull his hands off the ceiling?” Bruce asked from below them. 

“I could, but that would probably injure both of us,” Peter called down. 

“Shit,” Tony muttered. He could feel his anxiety start to pick up again. 

“Could we sedate him or something? Would he let go then?” Bruce asked. Tony cringed at the thought of that. 

“Maybe,” Peter replied, but he sounded skeptical. “I don’t always let go in my sleep, so it’s hard to say.” 

The boy gazed at his mentor thoughtfully. Tony knew that look. He was working out the problem in his head. Tony tried to stay calm and give Peter the time he needed to think things through. 

Finally the Kid said, “I’ve got an idea. It should do the trick… I mean, if it works the same way on you as it does on me… It probably does. But I can’t really be sure…”

“Kid, you’re rambling,” Tony interrupted. To be honest, listening to Peter ramble was somehow comforting. 

“Sorry,” Peter replied automatically. Then he seemed to make a decision and got to his feet. “Okay, we’re gonna try something.”

He walked in a circle around Tony, stopping near his head. Peter tapped the bracelets on his wrists, putting the web shooters into active mode. 

“What are you…?” Tony started to ask.

Before he could get the question out, Peter shot out webs hitting both of Tony’s shoulders. He then let out long lengths of webbing before attaching the ends to the ceiling. 

“I’m creating a safety harness so you don’t drop to the floor and break your neck when you let go,” Peter informed him. 

“Uhm, okay…” Tony said uncertainly. 

Peter gestured to Bruce to back away a little. Then he knelt next to Tony’s head and leaned over the man. Tony could feel Peter running gentle fingers between his shoulder blades before they settled on a spot just to the right of his spine. 

Peter’s voice was soft and calm. “There’s a pressure point right here. Take deep breaths, Spiderling. This might be a little uncomfortable, but it won’t hurt.”

Tony nodded and took two deep breaths. He felt Peter press his fingers firmly with gradually increasing pressure. There was an odd tingling sensation and then he felt both hands and both feet release from the ceiling and he was falling. However, the sense of freefall only lasted a second before Tony found himself swaying a few feet above the floor, hanging from the webs at his shoulders. 

Peter used another web to lower himself down, until he was hanging upside down face to face with his mentor. Peter grinned at him and pulled out a pocket knife.

“Ready?” The boy asked. 

“Yes, just get me down.” Tony was anxious to have his feet back on the floor. 

Peter made the cuts quickly and Tony dropped the last few feet to the floor. Bruce rushed forward and steadied Tony as he landed. The teen released his own web and flipped to the floor. 

Bruce helped Tony over to the couch and looked him over quickly. “That was...interesting. How do you feel?”

“I’m alright,” Tony insisted, then admitted, “I feel a little tired. But otherwise I’m fine.”

Tony looked at Peter, “Pressure point, huh? Why haven’t I heard about that before?” Peter was supposed to let him know about any new developments related to his powers. 

Peter looked a little embarrassed. “Uhm… Well, I just found out about it a couple weeks ago. MJ and I discovered it by accident.” Then he laughed a little and added, “It scared the shit out of both of us the first time.”

Tony and Bruce exchanged looks of surprise, wondering if Peter had just admitted to something. 

“And what exactly were you and MJ doing when you discovered this pressure point?” Tony asked in a very parental tone. 

Peter’s sheepishly looked away. “Uhm…” 

Tony shook his head and said, “On second thought, don’t tell me. If you tell me, I’ve gotta know about it. And then I have to be the responsible adult and give you The Talk. Is it safe to assume that at this point in your life some other responsible adult has already given you The Talk?”

Peter nodded still not looking at Tony, “Yeah, yeah...” 

“You’re sure?” Tony asked. “You know all about mutual consent? And about staying safe? Because I don’t want to have to find out if your enhanced healing works on STIs.”

“Don’t… Yes, I know all that… We’re not even… Are we done here?” Peter stumbled through the words. His face was bright red. 

“And I don’t even want to think about the chance of you having any Spider-babies anytime soon…” Tony continued.

“Oh my god, I should’ve left you on the ceiling!” Peter exclaimed in frustration. 

“Okay, okay,” Tony backed off. “You’re all good then?”

“I’m good,” Peter replied quickly. He turned and started walking away. 

“Hey, where are you going?” Tony called after him. 

“Homework!” Peter yelled back and hurried from the room. 

Bruce cleared his throat. “Well, this has been an enlightening afternoon… since you’re okay, I think I’ll head back to my lab.” 

Left alone in the room, Tony just stared at his hands and feet and tried to process everything that had just happened.  _ Oh, god, I hope it’s not months, _ he thought. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually did look up how long the donor’s blood stays in the recipient’s body. I found a couple of articles that said the red blood cells can live for up to 90 days. So if that’s wrong, blame Google. I don’t make any claims that any of the science or medical information in here is correct.


	4. Get Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony realizes some things about Peter’s life. Tony and Peter have some fun.

_ Life is rough, rough (get up). _

_ I've seen you laying down (get up). _

_ With the loving kind (get up). _

_ I know life is hard, hard (where goes your time?). _

_ Where to turn? Where to turn? (get up). _

_ Dreams they complicate my life.  _

_ (Dreams they compliment my life.) _

  * “Get Up” R.E.M.



************

Tony and Peter worked at opposite ends of the table in a small conference room that had become a makeshift study. Tony was going over some business projections for the latest Stark Industries products. Peter had wandered in some time ago asking for help with his Spanish essay, then decided to stay there to complete the assignment. 

The boy was making good progress on his work, but Tony couldn’t concentrate on the display in front of him. He kept getting distracted, thinking about the chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen.

Tony had known that Peter was always hungry. He knew that the boy rarely declined an offer of food and generally ate whatever was put in front of him. However, Tony had never understood what  _ always hungry _ actually felt like. But now, the gnawing feeling in Tony’s stomach was almost constant. He hated it. 

“Hey Kid, should we grab a snack?” Tony asked hopefully. 

Peter chuckled. He was very impressed by Tony’s increased appetite. They had eaten Chinese take out just over an hour ago. Peter wasn’t sure if that counted as their third lunch or their first dinner for the day. It didn’t really matter. 

“Not yet, Spiderling. It seems like we just ate. And I want to finish this.” Peter replied, indicating his essay. 

“Aren’t you hungry?” Tony asked with a frown. 

Peter just shrugged, “Yeah, but I’m used to it.”

“What do you mean used to it? How do you not eat all the time?” The man asked incredulously. 

“If I ate all the time, I would never get anything else done. I have school, academic decathlon, Spider-Man, and everything else. I don’t have time to eat all the time,” Peter pointed out. There was a pause, then he added, “Besides, food is a limited resource.” 

Tony was deeply troubled at the last remark. He honestly understood about being too busy to eat. But  _ food is a limited resource? _

“What do you mean?” the man asked. 

Peter set down his pen. “Groceries are expensive, Mr. Stark. And I can’t let myself eat everything I want. May needs to eat too.” Peter explained patiently. “I do try to help out though. If I have extra cash, I’ll do an additional grocery run to stock up the kitchen.” 

“Where do you get extra cash?” Tony asked. 

“Mostly I fix the stuff I find in the trash and sell it on eBay. Sometimes I babysit or do odd jobs around the apartment building. Usually I make enough to help May cover the utility bills. If there’s extra, I buy more groceries.”

Tony stared at him with a pained look. He had thought the dumpster diving was strictly a whimsical hobby. He didn’t know it was a source of household income. “Kid, you’re fifteen. You shouldn’t be paying the bills.” 

Peter shrugged. “It’s just me and May. Since Ben died things have been tight. I help where I can. Like I said, I’m used to it. It’s fine,” Peter assured him. 

Tony knew it wasn’t fine. Here he was, one of the richest people in the world and the kid he was responsible for didn’t get enough to eat because of  _ money.  _ Tony was ashamed that he had never thought about it before. But he could fix this. 

Tony typed on the keyboard in front of him and brought up the website for Midtown’s Nutrition Department. 

“What’s your student ID number, Kid?” Tony asked. Then he said, “Oh, never mind, FRIDAY has it.”

Peter came around the table immediately to see what Tony was doing. “You’re hacking into my school meal  account?” he asked incredulously. 

“No, I’m not hacking in,” Tony replied. “I’m setting up the parent payment option. Hmm...It looks like it’s a debit system. I put money into the account and you use it to buy breakfast and lunch at school. Oh good, I can do automatic monthly payments.” 

“Parent payment? You’re not a parent, not really,” Peter said anxiously. 

“Semantics,” Tony dismissed the concern, choosing not to dwell on that statement. 

“Mr. Stark, you can’t just pay for my school lunches!” Peter protested. 

“Apparently I can,” Tony replied as he tapped a few keys. “And I want you eating breakfast and lunch. Oh look, I can even see what you buy. You better make good choices.”

“I can’t use your money to buy meals at school,” Peter shook his head. “It’s not right.”

Tony realized he may have overstepped a boundary, but he didn’t care. “Look, Kid, the funds are in the account and there will be a payment every month. As far as I’m concerned, the money’s already been spent. Now you can let that money just sit in the account and go to waste or you can use it to buy the meals you need.”

“Why would you do that?” Peter asked quietly, honestly confused by the billionaire’s actions. 

“I should have done it before,” Tony said sadly. “I just didn’t realize… You being hungry like this all the time is unacceptable, especially when I can do something about it. I’m going to talk to May and we will come up with a system so you two always have money for groceries or eating out.”

Peter turned a little pale. “May’s gonna have a fit when she hears about this!” 

Tony grimaced. “Yeah, she will. But my guess is that she won’t put her pride ahead of you getting what you need.”

Peter didn’t know how to respond to that, so he said the only thing he could think of. “Thank you,” the boy whispered sincerely. 

Tony stood and put his hands on the Kid’s shoulders. “I’m sorry, Pete. I didn’t understand before.”

Suddenly Peter grinned brightly. “You know, I do want a snack. Let’s go have some cookies.”

At the mention of cookies, Tony’s stomach rumbled causing Peter to laugh. Despite his hunger pains, Tony actually felt a little better about the whole situation. 

————

When Rhodes returned to the compound the next day, he was severely disappointed that he had missed Tony getting stuck to the ceiling. He made Bruce tell him the story three times, until the colonel laughed so hard he had tears rolling down his cheeks. 

“Alright, that’s enough,” Tony said with some embarrassment.

“That will never be enough,” Rhodes countered, still laughing. 

Tony just glared at his best friend. 

“Okay,” Rhodey went on to say, “I understand you getting stuck on the ceiling and the Kid having to rescue you. What I don’t understand is why you were up there to begin with.”

“I told you, I just had an urge to climb up,” Tony said in an irritated tone. 

“So you looked at the wall and you just felt an urge to climb it,” Rhodes said in disbelief. 

“Yes, Sweetums, that’s what I said,” Tony replied.

“See, that doesn’t make any sense,” Rhodes remarked, shaking his head. 

“Sure it does,” Peter interjected. Until this point he hadn’t joined the conversation and had let Bruce tell the story. The boy grinned at Tony, “It makes perfect sense.”

Tony smiled back at the Kid, then said to Rhodes, “Well, I won’t do it again, that’s for sure.”

“You should,” Peter told him. 

The three adults looked at him questioningly. 

Peter continued, “It’s like what they say about learning to ride a bicycle: you gotta get back on that bike that threw you off.”

Tony laughed a little, “It’s horse. You get back on the  _ horse _ that threw you.”

Peter frowned, “It is?”

Rhodes chuckled. “How do you not know that, Peter? You know everything else.”

Peter shrugged. “I grew up in Queens. How would I know anything about riding a horse?” He pointed out with his usual good humor. “But I do know about learning to ride a bike. I know that when you fall, you gotta get back on.” 

Tony made a mental note to take the Kid horseback riding sometime. 

“The Kid has a point,” Bruce spoke up. “Not about the bike vs. horse thing… although he might have a point there too. But I mean about trying again. Maybe you should.”

The very idea of it made the billionaire nervous. “What if I get stuck again?”

“You won’t,” Peter said with certainty.

“What if I fall?” Tony asked. 

“I’ll catch you with a web,” Peter told him. “But you’re not going to fall.” 

Tony reluctantly gave in. “Fine.”

———-

Tony and Peter were sitting on the living room ceiling a few feet away from the spot where Tony had gotten stuck. They had climbed up side by side and then Peter had insisted that they sit for a while so Tony could get used to the sensations. Peter’s posture was completely natural. Tony sat a little stiffly, pressing his hands and bare feet against the ceiling while trying to find a better position. 

“How do you feel, Spiderling? Are you dizzy or disoriented at all?” Peter asked with concern. 

“No. I wasn’t last time either. I’m just not used to sitting like this. I prefer furniture,” Tony admitted. 

Peter nodded, watching as the billionaire shifted uncomfortably. 

Tony looked around, then commented, “It actually seems peaceful up here. If I don’t think about it too much, it’s kind of calming.”

“Then don’t think about it too much,” Peter advised. “And yes, it’s very peaceful up here.”

Peter laid down on his back with his arms spread out and closed his eyes. Tony couldn’t help noticing how unusually relaxed the Kid seemed to be as he sprawled across the ceiling. It was like all his stress melted away. 

“When I grow up and have my own place, I’m gonna carpet the ceilings,” Peter said absently, eyes still closed. 

The statement took Tony by surprise. It wasn’t the idea of carpeting the ceiling - which was a little shocking - as much as it was hearing Peter daydream about  _ when I grow up.  _ He rarely talked like that and it made him seem so young. 

“The walls too?” Tony asked teasingly.

“No, carpeting the walls would be silly,” Peter answered as though that should be obvious. 

The man chuckled, “How are you going to keep those ceiling carpets clean, Kid? It would be hard to vacuum them.” 

The teen’s eyes popped open. “That’s why I need to develop the anti-gravity Roomba,” he said with all seriousness. 

“That’s what you’ve been working on?” Tony was a little flabbergasted. 

“Uh-huh.” Peter nodded.

Tony remembered that a few weeks ago Peter had shown up excited about a damaged Roomba he had found while dumpster diving. The boy had been tinkering with it on and off since then. Every time Tony had asked about it, Peter had been evasive about what he was doing. 

“Why didn’t you tell me that before?” Tony asked curiously. 

“I didn’t think you would understand before,” Peter admitted. “But now I think you do.”

There was so much trust in that simple statement. Before Tony could respond, Peter launched into an enthusiastic explanation of what he had tried, why his attempts had failed, and all the things he wanted to try next. His ideas ranged from careful scientific analysis to the somewhat fantastical and highly imaginative. 

Tony reclined a little and listened, completely enthralled. He was always amazed by the things Peter thought up. Tony wanted to hold on to this moment of Peter being so trusting and open with him. 

The Kid suddenly realized he was rambling. “Sorry,” he said, a little embarrassed. 

Tony looked at the boy fondly. “Don’t be. It’s all good. You know, I would have bought you a new Roomba to experiment on. You didn’t need to pull a broken one from the garbage.”

“I know, but people throw away all kinds of things. Just because something is damaged doesn’t mean it isn’t still worthwhile,” Peter said quietly. It sounded like the Kid was talking about more than just the electronics he found in the trash. 

They lapsed into a companionable silence, until Peter broke out in a mischievous grin. 

“Wanna race?” the boy challenged. He stood up and grabbed Tony’s hand, then gently tugged the man to his feet. “We can start by the elevator and race to the far wall and back.” The living room was huge, giving them a large expanse to run. 

Tony stood unsteadily. “A race hardly seems fair, Kid. You have super speed,” the man complained. 

Peter laughed. “I bet you do too, Spiderling. Let’s find out! Just watch out for the light fixtures.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea…” Tony began to protest. 

Peter pretended to reconsider. “Yeah, on second thought maybe you’re too old to be running around on the ceiling.” 

That got exactly the reaction he was hoping for. Tony scowled at him and then took off running. Peter followed a second after. They ran from one end of the room to the other. 

Tony did indeed have super speed, but Peter had the advantage of more experience and better control. After a couple of races, they somehow shifted into a game of chasing each other around the ceiling and even tackled each other a few times. All the while they were shrieking and laughing like a couple of young kids. 

The noise brought Rhodes and Bruce to the room to see what was going on. Neither man could believe the sight of what was happening above them. 

“What the hell are you two doing up there?” Rhodes demanded. 

Tony and Peter both froze, eyes wide. “Nothing!” they answered in unison, like naughty children. Then they looked at each other and laughed. 

“Stop roughhousing up there and get down here before you break something!” Rhodes called up. 

Tony looked at Peter with a pout. “Mom says we need to get down now.” The he noticed the Kid’s expression, “You okay, Pete?”

Peter’s eyes were shining. He looked both happy and embarrassed. “Yeah. Thanks, Mr. Stark. I never get to just play like that. It was fun.”

Tony knew that Peter loved being Spider-Man and that his powers made him unique. But Tony had never thought about how lonely that might be, especially for a teenager. The Kid had no one who could really relate to him. 

Tony still hated dealing with these side effects, but for Peter’s sake, he was going to put up with them. He intended to make the very best of this situation for however long it lasted. 

It was a good intention. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mostly fun. But fun doesn’t last. Like I said before, this is going to be a real roller coaster ride for Tony: things would get better... things would get worse. We’ve seen the better. So worse is coming up.


	5. Losing My Religion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony has an increasingly hard time adapting to his spider powers. Peter worries a lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the beginning of the story turning darker. Just a warning to those who were hoping for more lightness and fluff. 
> 
> In the American South, the saying “losing my religion” means to lose one's temper or to lose self-control.

_That's me in the corner. That's me in the spotlight._

_Losing my religion._

_Trying to keep up with you and I don't know if I can do it._

_Oh no, I've said too much. I haven't said enough._

_I thought that I heard you laughing._

_I thought that I heard you sing._

_I think I thought I saw you try._

_But that was just a dream._

  * “Losing My Religion” R.E.M.



*************

The mission had left the Iron Man and Spider-Man suits with considerable damage. The War Machine suit had some minor damage as well and was in need of some repairs. Tony and Peter had plenty of work to keep them busy. 

Tony was getting nowhere with his suit repairs. Normally his time in the workshop was calming, almost cathartic, especially after a difficult mission. But these weren’t normal circumstances. 

He kept using too much strength. He was constantly breaking tools and doing more damage to the delicate components. He just couldn’t get a feel for the task at hand.

The difficulty wasn’t just in the workshop. The kitchen trash can was full of shattered dishes and glassware, bent silverware, and even a splintered cabinet door. Not to mention that he had completely pulled the faucet off the sink, broken various pieces of furniture, and crushed a couple doorknobs. Tony saw that Peter was always following after him, cleaning up his accidents and doing household repairs. The Kid’s constant presence was wearing on his nerves. 

Then there was the continuing problem with his appetite. His stomach was constantly rumbling, wanting more food. Tony used to be able to work for hours without taking a break, but now he needed to stop constantly to fill what felt like an enormous pit in his stomach. 

Additionally, his senses were still going haywire. It wasn’t just a matter of the lights being too bright and sounds being too loud - although those definitely were issues. There were also scents that seemed stronger than usual. His skin was more sensitive to the texture of his clothes and even the weight of the air pressure. 

Peter had shown him the dozen or so Parker Room Settings that he had developed and had programmed into FRIDAY without Tony ever realizing it. Each one was a little different. They adjusted the light level, filtered sound, added or removed scents, and even adjusted the room temperature and air pressure. Some made drastic changes to the room environment, while others were more subtle. 

Tony had tried different settings, but couldn’t find one that calmed all his senses. Peter suggested choosing one that was close and then they could find tune it, but often the man was feeling too impatient and agitated for even that task. 

Tony felt lost and confused by what was happening to him. It had only been a few days, but he felt like he was losing the person he was because of these side effects. He felt like he was becoming someone else. And he hated that. He was terrified by the unpredictable nature of these powers and the fact that he couldn’t control them. He hated how they interfered with his work and turned his life upside down. As each day went on, things only got worse. 

—————-

Peter could see that his mentor was struggling and it worried him. He tried to help as much as he could, but it seemed like his efforts had started to annoy Tony. 

The boy consulted with Bruce about it. “It’s been several days and he’s still having such a hard time adjusting. Much harder than I did at the beginning,” Peter told the scientist worriedly. 

Bruce nodded. “I know. I’ve discussed this with Dr. Cho. She believes that your transformation was easier because of your age. You were in puberty, so your body and your brain were already going through major changes. Tony’s body just can’t adjust that quickly and his brain can’t deal with it well.”

“What should I do to help him?” Peter asked. 

Bruce shrugged. “Just be there to support him and offer guidance. Try to be patient with him.”

So Peter tried his best he could to help Tony out. He offered encouragement and advice, despite the man’s increasingly grumpy mood. He cleaned up Tony’s messes and repaired the damages to household items. He made sure Tony ate enough and slept enough. But mostly Peter worried. It was exhausting; but at the same time, the additional stress was keeping Peter up at night. The Kid vaguely wondered if this was how his mentor felt when looking after him. 

—————-

Peter was working late into the night. He had managed to convince Tony to go to bed. The man had been exhausted and in desperate need of rest. The Kid hoped that Tony would feel better in the morning. Peter himself was unable to sleep due to how concerned he was. He decided to deal with his worry by being productive in the workshop. 

Peter finished the repairs to his Spider-Man suit. The damage was extensive, but he had a lot of experience repairing his own suit. After several hours of nonstop repairs, everything was in perfect working order. Peter even did an upgrade on Karen’s system, crafted new eye lenses, and made a fresh batch of web fluid. 

He still felt a lot of stress and anxiety. FRIDAY strongly encouraged him to rest and eat something, but Peter declined. He decided to take care of the War Machine suit next. Rhodes had managed to avoid any major damage, so the suit just needed minor repairs, mainly to the weapons systems and the chest plate armor. Peter was able to take care of those rather quickly and before long the War Machine suit was looking as good as new. 

With that accomplished, Peter walked over to Tony’s workstation, where the man had attempted to do delicate repairs on the electronics of the Iron Man suit. Peter frowned, seeing that the area was littered with broken tools and damaged components. Peter cleaned up the mess, salvaging the tools and parts he could and throwing away the rest. 

Then Peter assessed the damage to the Iron Man suit. He had experience doing repairs on Tony’s suits, although he had always done them under his mentor’s watchful eye. But he could see what needed to be fixed and knew everything was well within his own capabilities. Peter thought that maybe if he completed the repairs, it would be one less thing for Tony to stress about. Maybe Tony would relax a little. So he started working on it. 

—————-

Tony sat bolt upright in bed as he jolted awake from a nightmare. It had been a particularly bad one. The start of the dream had been familiar: he was once again flying a nuclear warhead into a portal in space. Only when he was about to toss the nuke at the alien ship, he found that he couldn’t let go. He was wearing the Iron Man suit, but the gauntlets were missing and his bare hands were sticking to the bomb. He couldn’t let go, no matter how hard he tried. When the warhead went off, he screamed as the explosion thundered in his ears and seared his skin. He woke up breathless and drenched in sweat, unable to shake the disturbing sensations of his nightmare. 

His head was pounding and his senses were all out of whack. It was still the middle of the night, so FRIDAY turned the lights on at a low level. It was still too bright. The sounds of the compound were too loud. His night clothes were irritating his skin. The air pressure weighed on him too heavily. He was keyed up from the nightmare and desperate for relief. He couldn’t take the time to find a preprogrammed room setting that would aleve his senses. He turned to the one thing that had always managed to dull him - physically, mentally, and emotionally. 

After Peter started coming to the compound regularly, Tony had gotten rid of most of the alcohol on the premises. He didn’t want to be drunk around the Kid. However, there were a few bottles stashed here and there. Tony got out of bed and pulled down the bottle that was hidden on the top shelf of his closet. He only hesitated for a moment before he ripped off the cap and drank straight from the bottle. It didn’t take long for him to empty it. 

The alcohol affected him oddly. His body felt lighter and less strained, but without the stumbling clumsiness that usually went with being drunk. His senses were dulled and his thoughts didn’t race quite as much, but his emotions seemed more intense. He still felt frightened, but more than that, he felt a growing anger. Tony decided he needed more alcohol to calm his nerves. 

“FRIDAY, where is there another bottle of this stuff?” he asked and was pleased to find that his speech wasn’t slurred. 

The AI seemed to hesitate for a moment. Then came a quiet reply, “There’s another bottle in the workshop, Boss. However, I suggest…”

“Yeah, yeah… shut up,” Tony commanded, silencing the AI. He headed to the workshop to retrieve the bottle. 

He never suspected that was about to happen in the workshop that night would change everything. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and the next were written together. It got longer than I prefer my chapters to be, so I split it. Therefore this chapter and the next are a little short. The next one should be up soon.


	6. World Leader Pretend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony is enraged and lashes out at Peter. Bruce and Rhodes help Tony realize a hard truth about himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m posting this chapter so soon after the previous one because they were written together. I split them due to length. 
> 
> This is another darker chapter. Trigger warnings for alcohol-induced behavior, verbal abuse of a teenager, and mention of suicide. 
> 
> I know that the song “World Leader Pretend” has been used politically. It’s not used that way here. It just seems to me to be the perfect fit for Tony Stark, especially with the states of mind he has here.

_ I sit at my table and wage war on myself. _

_ It seems like it's all, it's all for nothing. _

_ I know the barricades. _

_ And I know the mortar in the wall breaks.  _

_ I recognize the weapons, I used them well.  _

_ This is my mistake. Let me make it good. _

_ I raised the wall and I will be the one to knock it down. _

_ … _

_ This is my world and I am world leader pretend.  _

  * “World Leader Pretend” R.E.M.



************

Later, Tony would look back on what happened with a heavy heart and deep regret. 

He would try to justify his behavior. He was in pain. He was afraid. He was exhausted. He was in the worst sensory overload he had ever experienced. He was hungry. He had been drinking, trying to dull all the other sensations and bury his emotions. 

Those were all excuses. Flimsy excuses at best. None of them were worthy of the Kid he had shattered. 

A small part of Tony would even try to convince himself that all of this was somehow Peter’s fault. And maybe in one sense that was true. But it was wrong to blame a teenager whose only mistake had been saving his mentor’s life. 

In the end, Tony was going to have to face some hard truths. 

————-

Tony entered the workshop in search of another bottle. He stopped suddenly when he found Peter bent over his workstation, fully engrossed in working on the Iron Man suit. 

“What the hell are you doing!” Tony’s shouted angrily, startling the teen. 

“I… I’m fixing your suit for you,” Peter said, looking up from the work. His spider sense suddenly went on alert just as he saw the empty bottle in the man’s hand. 

“My suit? Who gave you permission to fucking touch my suit?” the man yelled, advancing on the boy. 

Peter swallowed hard. “No one.” His voice was quiet. 

Tony glared at Peter. “Don’t you ever touch my stuff. Any of it. Not my suit. Not my tools. Ever.” He slammed the bottle down on the table, breaking it. Peter flinched violently. Tony reached out and roughly yanked the tools from the teen’s hands. 

“I’m sorry, Mr. Stark.” Peter tried to keep his voice low and calm, even while his own senses were starting to flare up. “I just wanted to help you by fixing your suit. That way you wouldn’t need to…” 

“You wanted to help me?” Tony’s voice practically growled. Peter had never heard it like that outside a battle. “How the hell could an annoying little bug like you help me?”

As Tony spoke, Bruce ran into the workshop. He was followed by a slightly stumbling Rhodes. FRIDAY had woken them both up and alerted them to what was happening. They were stunned to hear Tony talk to his protégé like that. 

Peter was hurt and frightened. He tried again to explain, “I’m sorry, sir. I just thought…”

Tony threw the tools across the room. “I don’t want to hear what you thought. The truth is, you weren’t really thinking. Not now when you were messing with my suit. And not the other day when you decided to give me spider powers.”

Rhodes took a step forward. “Tony, stop it,” he said firmly. But the other man ignored him. 

Peter tried to calm his mentor. “The spider powers were an accident, sir. I didn’t mean to… I just wanted to help you… And they’re only temporary, Mr. Stark. You’ll be back to your old self soon.” The Kid was rambling. 

Tony’s voice was full of rage. “It goddamn better be temporary! This is no way to live. You’ve turned me into a freak! Just like you. Miserable. Pathetic. If I had to live like this all the time, I’d fucking kill myself!” 

Peter froze and his face drained of color. He closed his eyes tightly as tears started to run down his face. Tony continued ranting, but Peter didn’t hear any of it. 

“Tony!” Bruce interjected harshly, silencing him. Rhodes grabbed Tony’s arm and pulled him away from the boy. 

Peter was deeply hurt. He attempted to hold in a sob, but failed. The boy got up and ran from the room. Bruce reached for Peter, but the teen moved quickly, evading his grasp. Peter fled from the workshop at almost super speed without looking back. 

Bruce considered going after him, but decided to give the Kid some space to calm down. Besides, it was going to take both Bruce and Rhodes to get Tony under control. 

“FRIDAY, watch the Kid,” Bruce commanded the AI in a low voice. “Let me know immediately if he attempts anything dangerous.”

“I’m on it,” FRIDAY answered, sounding as concerned as an artificial intelligence possibly could. 

“What the hell, Tony!” Rhodes shouted. “What is going on with you? You get drunk and then attack the Kid?”

“I’m not drunk,” Tony protested. “Damn spider metabolism… I can’t even get drunk the right way!” The alcohol was clearly affecting him, but they could see that it wasn’t quite the same as being drunk. He was really angry. 

“Well whatever you are, that was inexcusable,” Rhodes started. “Look, we all know you have a thing against people who are enhanced, but this...”

“What? You think I’m prejudiced?” Tony was honestly shocked by the accusation. “I don’t have a problem with enhanced people. Some of my closest friends are enhanced.”

“Oh, really? Like who?” Bruce asked. 

“Like you, obviously,” Tony pointed out. 

“Yeah, but my enhancements aren’t active all the time. As long as I don’t lose my temper, I’m pretty much an ordinary guy,” Bruce argued. 

Tony scoffed, “You are many things Bruce, but you are definitely not an ordinary guy.”

Bruce sighed. “You know what I mean. When I’m just me - just Banner - I don’t have super powers. Other than not getting me too mad, you don’t have to deal with me being enhanced on a day to day basis.” He didn’t need to add that the current situation was pushing his limits.

Tony nodded. “Sure, but that doesn’t mean I have something against enhanced people,” Tony thought for a moment then said, “What about Thor?” 

Rhodes shook his head, “Thor isn’t an enhanced human. He’s an alien god from another realm. It’s not the same thing. Besides, you’re always a little mean to Thor.” 

“I am not!” Tony protested. “I just maybe have some fun at his expense. And anyway, Thor’s just a big, brawny idiot with a hammer.”

Rhodes sighed. “That attitude is what we’re talking about.” 

“What? I make fun of an Asgardian god and that makes me some kind of bigot against enhanced people?” Tony was incredulous. 

“You called Wanda a weapon of mass destruction,” Rhodes pointed out. 

“You’ve seen what she can do! What do you call that?” Tony yelled. 

“I call her a person,” Rhodes replied flatly. 

Then Bruce asked quietly, “What about Steve?”

Tony scowled at the name. “What about him?”

Bruce sighed, “You told Steve that he was a laboratory experiment. That everything special about him came from a bottle.” Before Tony could try to deny it, Bruce added, “I was right there. I heard you.”

Tony’s temper erupted. “Well that’s the goddamn truth! And he said I wasn’t a hero. Me! I created Iron Man in a cave while my life was in danger. I’ve poured my blood, sweat, and soul into my suits. Those suits come from my genius and my hard work. Nobody else could have done that! Nobody! My father thought Steve Rogers was the greatest hero. He was a  _ nothing _ before the serum - just some scrawny, sickly, poor kid from Brooklyn. There was  _ nothing _ special about him. Just like all those other enhanced people who call themselves heroes. None of them had to work for it the way I did.”

Bruce took a deep breath, controlling his own anger. Then he spat out, “You really think enhanced people don’t work for it?”

“I don’t mean you, Bruce. You’re the exception,” Tony replied dismissively. 

“And what about Peter?” Rhodes asked. “I mean, isn't he just some scrawny, poor kid? Was he a nothing too?” His voice was heavy with sarcasm. 

Tony shook his head. “No. No, Peter’s different. He’s brilliant and hardworking and he’s amazing. If he didn’t have powers, he would still be special because he would be…”

“He would be more like you?” Rhodes interrupted harshly. “Or he would be less like Steve? Or do you mean he wouldn’t be a freak?”

Tony breathed hard. He felt the alcohol induced anger melting away, leaving something else behind. His face fell as realization hit. “Oh no, no...” 

Rhodes and Bruce both saw the shift in Tony as the billionaire slumped against the table. 

“Tony, have you been hearing yourself?” Rhodes asked in a voice that was both gentle and reprimanding. 

“Yeah,” Tony said miserably, ashamed. “I heard it.”

“Is that really how you feel?” Bruce asked. “Do you hate enhanced people?”

Tony shook his head, “I don’t… I don’t know. I don’t want to.” He sat down heavily and put his hands over his face in shame. 

Rhodes laid his hand on Tony’s shoulder. “Tones, you have to face it. You have a prejudice against enhanced people.”

“I…I didn’t realize it….” Tony looked at Bruce. “I’m sorry.”

Bruce regarded his friend sadly, “I know. But I’m not the one you really need to apologize to.”

“Oh, god… what have I done?” Tony cried. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes we don’t realize our own hidden biases until we are forced to confront them. Sometimes we hurt the people we love. Sometimes the people we love hurt us. How we deal with those things is a true test of our character.


	7. These Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two months after the incident in the workshop, Tony and Peter try to reconnect.

_ All the people gather, fly to carry each his burden. _

_ We are young despite the years. _

_ We are concern.  _

_ We are hope despite the times. _

  * “These Days” R.E.M.



****************

TWO MONTHS LATER 

Tony sat on a rooftop in Queens with a bakery box next to him and his Iron Man suit standing at attention a Several feet away. It was exactly the same as he had been doing twice a week for the past month or so. Every Wednesday and Sunday, Tony sat on this same rooftop hoping - but not expecting - that Peter would join him. 

He missed the Kid, more than he was willing to admit out loud. They hadn’t seen or talked to each other since that night in the workshop, when he had said those horrible things to the boy. Immediately after he realized what he had done, Tony had locked himself in his bedroom and spent several hours in a destructive fit of self-loathing. By the time Tony emerged, Peter had left the compound. 

During those two months they only had indirect contact. FRIDAY and Karen communicated frequently, passing along whatever information and updates both AIs thought was important. Bruce saw Peter frequently and kept a concerned eye on the boy. And Tony used the school’s online systems to monitor Peter’s grades and his eating habits. 

Tony had texted Peter several times, asking him to come back to the compound. When the boy replied, if he replied at all, it was always with a simple “no thank you”. So Tony had taken up the habit of sitting on this rooftop in Queens twice a week. He had chosen the location carefully. It wasn’t close enough to the Parkers’ apartment to seem stalkerish, but not far away enough to be inconvenient.

FRIDAY always let Karen know that Tony was there, in case Peter wanted to talk. Karen always confirmed that she had relayed the message. Usually Peter didn’t respond. But sometimes he sent back a message through the AIs, a simple “not today”. 

Tony hadn’t gotten a response this particular day. He had been sitting on the rooftop for over two hours, catching up on emails and then playing games mindlessly on his phone. He sighed, ready to give up for the evening. He would try again in a few days. 

Just as he was closing the game, he heard the lightest of footsteps behind him. Tony held his breath and turned slowly, catching sight of the figure in red and blue. He couldn’t believe the boy was there. 

“Hi, Kid,” Tony said, forcing a calm he didn’t feel into his voice. 

“Hey, Mr. Stark,” Peter replied cautiously, pulling off his mask. He sat down a few feet away, just out of arm’s reach. 

Tony slid the bakery box towards the boy, “Have a snack?”

Peter hesitated, then used a web to pull the box to himself. Opening it, he smiled slightly at the sight of the large chocolate chip muffins. Nodding his thanks, he picked up one and started to eat. 

They sat in silence for a while. Peter was eyeing Tony warily while he ate. Tony was afraid the Kid would run away at any moment. He had waited so long to be face to face with the boy, but now he wasn’t sure what to say or do. 

Finally Tony asked, “How’s school been?” He figured that was a safe topic. 

“It’s ok. The usual,” Peter replied. It wasn’t much of an answer, but Tony accepted it. They stared at each other some more. 

Tony broke the awkward silence. “Congratulations. On the internship at AccuTech. I hear you’ve impressed the hell out of everyone there.”

Peter chuckled. “Yeah, well funny thing about that internship. It was advertised at my school, but I never applied for it. They just called me and offered it.”

“Really?” Tony feigned surprise - and did a poor job of it. 

“Yeah. I guess a glowing recommendation from the owner of the company is all it takes,” the teen said pointedly. 

Tony raised his hands in a gesture of innocence. “AccuTech is an independent subsidiary of SI. I don’t control them.”

Peter smirked. “Sure you don’t. And Dr. Banner just happens to work there too.”

“Bruce does some consulting work for AccuTech now and then,” Tony explained. “If his schedule happens to overlap with yours, that’s just a coincidence.” 

Peter shook his head, not believing the man’s story for a second. But the Kid was smiling, a little amused. Then Peter asked, “Why did you do it?” 

Tony dropped the pretense. “A couple of reasons. For one, you deserve it - you’re smart and talented. I can’t take the risk of you getting snatched up by a competitor…” 

“I wouldn’t have gone to a competitor,” Peter said quietly. 

Tony smiled fondly. “I know.” He sighed, then went on. “The other reason was that if you’re not coming to my lab, you still need access to technology and resources. I can’t have you going back to making web fluid in your high school chem lab. Bruce has been making sure you get everything you need, right?”

Peter nodded. “Yeah.”

After a moment Tony asked, “Why  _ didn’t _ you apply for the internship?”

Peter looked down. “I didn’t realize I’d been fired from the internship at SI.”

Tony winced. “You weren’t fired, Pete. Officially, you’re on leave. You can come back anytime. There will always be a position for you at SI, in any department you want.” 

Peter nodded noncommittally. “Thank you, but I’m not ready yet. It still… hurts too much.”

And that brought them to the subject they had both been avoiding. 

“Pete...I...I'm sorry... I can’t put into words how sorry I am. How I acted and what I said… it was all so wrong.” 

Peter looked over the rooftops into the distance. “Yeah. But what you said made me think about some stuff.” The boy said quietly. 

Tony’s eyes went wide. That was terrifying. “Peter, please tell me you haven’t thought about… hurting yourself.” 

“I’m not suicidal,” the teen was quick to reassure him. After a pause, he added, “It was what you said about me being a freak.”

“Kid, you’re not…” Tony started painfully. 

Before Tony could finish, Peter interrupted him, “I know I’m not supposed to be like this.” The boy opened and closed his fists, studying them intently. 

There was so much in that statement, Tony didn’t know where to start. 

Peter continued in a contemplative tone, “I sometimes wonder who I was supposed to be.”

“What do you mean?” Tony asked with a frown. To him, the Kid was exactly who he should be. 

“I mean, who would I have been if my parents hadn’t died. If Mom and Dad had raised me. I would visit my aunt and uncle, but not live with them. I wouldn’t have grown up in Queens and I wouldn’t go to Midtown. I wouldn’t have been bitten by that spider. So who would I be now? Who was I supposed to be? I’m not supposed to be like this.” Peter’s thoughts all tumbled out. 

“What do you mean ‘like this’?” 

“An orphan. A poor kid. A misfit. A...a freak,” Peter said quietly. 

Tony’s heart broke at that. “Kid, please, don’t. You’re not a freak, I’m so sorry I said that.”

Peter sighed. “Climbing up walls, swinging around on webs, and fighting crime in a costume… when you really think about it, it does seem kinda freakish.”

Tony didn’t know how to answer that. “I thought you liked being Spider-Man.”

“I  _ love _ being Spider-Man. I like Queens and my school too. That’s the problem.” Peter replied sounding upset. 

Tony couldn’t follow his thinking. “How is it a problem?”

Peter played with his fingers and didn’t meet the man’s eyes. “I only have all that because of the things that happened after my parents died. If I love being Spider-Man, if I like living in Queens and going to my school, does that mean I’m happy my parents are dead?” 

Tony’s heart broke. “Kid, no.  _ No _ . It just means you learned the make the best of the crappy things that happened to you. There’s nothing wrong with liking who you are now.”

“Even if it’s not what I’m supposed to be?” Peter asked. 

Tony shook his head, unable to come up with a good answer. “Maybe none of us are what we were supposed to be.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Peter replied. The disappointment in his voice implied that Tony was just another adult who didn’t really understand. 

Knowing he was failing the Kid, Tony tried a different tactic. “I’ve been seeing a therapist for the past six weeks.”

Peter turned to him with wide eyes. “You don’t really seem like the go-to-therapy type.”

“I’m not,” Tony replied honestly. “But I’m doing it for you.. and for me… because I want to fix… all this. Helen Cho recommended her. She’s good. Normally I would just talk to Bruce about this kind of stuff. But lately, Bruce has been on this kick of ‘I’m not that kind of doctor.’ And by lately I mean just the past ten years or so. It’s annoying because really, what’s the point of having Bruce Banner on staff if I can’t pick his brain when I want to…”

“You’re rambling,” Peter observed. 

“Yeah,” Tony replied. 

“So, what are you learning in therapy?” The boy asked. 

“That I’m a jerk,” Tony answered automatically. 

Peter smirked. “You needed therapy to figure that out?”

“No, but therapy confirmed it,” Tony said with a self deprecating smile. The Kid was waiting for more of an answer. He deserved more of an answer. So, Tony took a deep breath and gave him one. “I’m learning to recognize my bias against enhanced people, how think differently and how to act differently.” It sounded like a practiced response. 

Peter seemed to study him for a minute. “Is it working?”

“Yeah, I think so.” He shifted how he was sitting on the roof, which reminded Peter of how the man had shifted around on the ceiling, trying to find a comfortable position. 

Tony took a moment to figure out how to say what he wanted to say. “My Dad was obsessed with Steve Rogers. He talked about him all the time. How Steve was so strong, so powerful. That Steve was such a hero and could do no wrong. Nothing I did could measure up. I couldn’t complete with the great Captain America. What kid could? Well, you could obviously, but I couldn’t. I hated Steve for that. Before I even met the guy, I hated him. Because I thought my dad loved Steve more than me. Steve and I eventually became friends, but it was always a strained friendship. And then everything with the Accords… Anyway, somehow the negative feelings I had towards Steve spread to enhanced people in general. That’s not an excuse. There is no excuse for how I behaved.” Tony told him shamefully. 

“Do you hate me? For being enhanced? For giving you powers?” Peter’s voice cracked as he tried not to cry. 

Tony had to hold back his own tears. He wished the teen wasn’t sitting so far away, out of reach. “No, Pete. I could never hate you. I reacted horribly to getting your powers and I’m still working on understanding that reaction. But it wasn’t about you. I promise that.”

Silence. Then, “Okay,” the sniffled response was barely audible. 

Tony looked over at Peter. “My therapist is really good. I think you would like her. I think she could help you deal with all this. And figure out the stuff you were talking about earlier, about wondering who you were supposed to be. Would you like to see her?”

Peter considered it. “Yeah, I would.” He wiped at his eyes. 

“I’ll set it up and send May the information. And don’t worry, it’s not going to cost May anything. Okay?” Tony tried not to sound desperate. 

Peter nodded. “Yeah. Okay. I should get going now.” He sounded tired or maybe just emotionally spent. 

Tony wished the Kid wouldn’t go. He wanted them to stay and talk longer. But Tony felt grateful that the boy had even shown up. 

Peter picked up his mask and stood to leave. Tony stood up as well. Peter watched Tony’s movements closely and then asked, “When did you lose the powers?” 

Tony was surprised. “How did you know?” 

Peter made a vague hand gesture that Tony couldn’t interpret. “I can just tell.”

“It was just a couple of days ago. I thought the powers would gradually fade away. But I woke up a couple mornings ago and they were completely gone. I wasn’t even hungry when I got up.” 

“You must be relieved,” Peter commented, his voice carefully neutral. 

“I am,” Tony admitted remorsefully. “But now I actually miss them a little.” 

Peter didn’t say anything, but gave him a questioning look. 

Tony shrugged. “I guess I just liked having the reminder of you.” 

The teen gave a slight smile. “I’m sure you have others.” 

“I do, but it’s not the same.” In fact, the compound was full of things that reminded him of the Kid. But the shared spider powers had been something special and he had failed to fully appreciate that at the time. 

They stood in silence for a minute just looking at each other. 

“I miss having my Spiderling,” he said quietly. 

“So do I,” came the reply. 

Tony watched as Peter pulled on the mask, walked to the edge of the roof, and jumped off. He stayed on alert until the teen caught himself with a web and started swinging home. 

Standing alone on the rooftop, Tony took a deep breath. Nothing was resolved between them yet. But for the first time in months, Tony felt a sense of hope. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that usually Peter’s sense of guilt is due to Uncle Ben. I wanted to go in a different direction and explore his feelings about his parents and the wonderings of “what would have been” if Richard and Mary hadn’t died.


	8. The Wrong Child

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter returns to the compound. Tony and Peter try to rebuild what they’ve lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s deliberate that out of all the songs used in the chapter titles, “The Wrong Child” is the only one that has part of the lyrics show up in the dialogue (in this chapter and the previous chapter). Just like I think “World Leader Pretend” is a great song to describe Tony, I think “The Wrong Child” is a great fit for Peter.

_What do I do? What should I do?_

_What do I say? What can I say?_

_I said I'm not supposed to be like this._

_Let's try to find a happy game to play._

_I'm not supposed to be like this,_

_But it's okay. Okay._

  * “The Wrong Child” R.E.M.



****************

It had been about six weeks since the first time Peter had shown up on the rooftop in Queens. Tony continued to sit there on Wednesday and Sunday nights and Peter showed up roughly half the time. They talked about what was going on at school or things that happened while Peter was Spider-Manning.

Peter had been seeing Tony’s therapist, Dr. Sterling. He liked her a lot and found their sessions helpful. Tony and Peter had even had some sessions together, family therapy style. It was helping to rebuild the fragile trust between them. 

Dr. Sterling thought they were ready for Peter to make a visit to the compound and the two had agreed. Of course, the therapist had discussed with them what sorts of things might trigger a panic attack for Peter. She recommended a short visit, for just a couple of hours. But naturally Peter and Tony chose to throw caution to the wind and have Peter spend the whole weekend. May had grudgingly agreed to it, but only because she needed to be away that weekend for work and didn’t want the teen to be home by himself. 

Tony was nervously pacing in the foyer, with Rhodes and Bruce looking on anxiously. Suddenly the door opened, filling the space with sunlight as Peter and Happy walked in. 

Peter had his school backpack slung over his shoulder and his duffel bag in hand. For a moment, Peter and Tony just stared at each other. 

Happy cleared his throat, then said to Peter, “Remember, Kid, if you want to go home at any point, just call me.”

The boy nodded. “Thanks, Happy,” he said sincerely. 

The Head of Security gave Tony a warning look before he headed back out. 

“Hi, Pete,” Tony greeted his protégé brightly. He went to sling his arm around the boy. But Peter deftly sidestepped, staying out of reach. _We’re not there yet,_ Tony realized. 

“Hey, Mr. Stark,” Peter replied, a little embarrassed that he still felt the need to dodge his mentor’s touch. 

Tony forced a smile despite his disappointment. “Do you want to take your stuff to your room? Then we’ll get something to eat.” 

“Yeah sure,” Peter answered flatly. That was what he usually did when he visited the compound. It seemed right. He headed towards his room, greeting Rhodes and Bruce as he passed them. 

Tony turned to his friends and frowned. 

“Give him time, Tony,” Bruce said encouragingly. “Don’t rush it. He’s here. That’s a start.”

——————

Peter paused at the door to his room. Immediately he knew something was different, but he wasn’t sure what yet. He looked around the room carefully. Everything seemed to be the way he had left it. 

Then he glanced up and was surprised to see a sky blue carpet on the ceiling. It coordinated perfectly with the darker blue carpet that covered the floor. Peter just stood in the doorway and stared at it. 

“What do you think?” Tony’s voice came from behind him. The man gestured for the teen to enter the room. “I thought a lighter color since it probably won’t get as much wear and tear as the regular carpet.” He looked at the boy carefully. “Or maybe it will. I guess we’ll find out.” 

Peter turned to the man with a shocked expression. “Does this mean you figured out the anti-gravity Roomba?” 

Tony laughed. “No, that’s strictly your project to solve. I did build an extra long telescoping attachment for the traditional vacuum cleaner. That will have to do in the meantime.”

Peter just grinned from ear to ear, amazement and joy clear on his face. Tony loved that expression. He hadn’t seen it in such a long time. 

Encouraged by Peter’s reaction, Tony continued, “I wanted to do the living room too. But the installers balked because of the two-story height and all the light fixtures. So for now, it’s just in your room.”

“I love it,” Peter breathed, still not quite believing it. 

“Are you going to try it out?” Tony asked, a bit impatiently. 

The Kid quickly dropped his bags and toed off his shoes. Then he leapt straight up, flipping to land in a seated position on the ceiling. He ran his hands over the carpet, feeling how wonderfully soft it was. Tony had obviously considered not just the color of the carpet, but the quality of the fibers as well. Peter laid back and sprawled out. 

“Well, is it everything you dreamed it would be?” Tony asked. 

“It’s perfect,” Peter said quietly. A thought occurred to the boy. “Did you get to try it out?” 

“You mean did I test out the carpet before I lost the spider powers? Yeah, I did. It was… very cool. Carpet on the ceiling is a brilliant idea. Now, do you wanna stay up there for a while or are you hungry?” He made it sound like either option was acceptable. 

Peter was immediately on his feet in front of the man. 

Tony chuckled. “I guess it’s food then.”

—————-

Tony had already ordered a ton of pasta primavera and salad. He dished it out while Peter got them glasses of ice water. 

Tony loaded Peter’s plate with food, but put a very small portion on his own. It was less than half of what he would have usually eaten before the blood transfusion. 

Peter frowned. “Are you sick? Why aren’t you eating?” 

“I am eating. See?” Tony made a show of putting a forkful of pasta in his mouth. 

“But that’s not nearly enough food for you,” Peter sounded worried. “Even without the spider powers, it’s not enough. “

“Calm down, Pete. It’s okay.” Tony reassured the teen. “It’s enough food for me for now. This way, I’ll get hungry again in an hour or two, the same as you do.”

Peter was shocked. “Why would you do that?”

Tony sighed. “So I don’t forget to make you eat. In the past I’ve been really bad about feeding you often enough and you’re too polite to complain about it. But now I know how it feels to be hungry like that.”

“Mr. Stark, you don’t have to…” Peter started. 

“I need to do better by you, Pete. I’m gonna try to do better. That starts with eating more often.” 

“Alright,” Peter smiled. Then he realized something. “Starts with? There’s more?”

“Yeah, I’ve got a bunch of ideas for upgrades on your suit,” Tony said excitedly. “Now that I know more about how you experience sensory input, I’d like to modify the sensory filters. Make things more comfortable for you.”

The Kid’s smile lit up his whole face. “That sounds great!”

Tony grinned and continued, “I also did some experiments and got a better understanding of how your stickiness works in different weather conditions. If we make some changes to the materials in your gloves and boots, I think you will have an easier time in the rain.”

“Really? That’s amazing!” Peter was thrilled and obviously surprised. 

Tony gave a sad smile. “Yeah, well once I stopped acting like an ass, I realized I needed to make the most of the experience so I can help you more.”

Tony wished Peter didn’t look so shocked by that. Was it really so astonishing that he could put the Kid’s interests ahead of his own? Then again, given his track record, maybe Peter had good reason to be stunned. 

Tony activated a holographic display and started showing Peter the improvements he had come up with. 

“We can work on your suit after we eat if you want,” Tony offered. 

“I kinda want to work on the Roomba first, now that I have a carpeted ceiling. But can we do the suit upgrades tomorrow?” Peter asked excitedly. 

Tony was relieved to see the Kid’s enthusiasm. He had missed that so much. “Whatever you want to do, Pete.”

——————

Peter became increasingly apprehensive as they made their way to the workshop. They were about six feet from the door, when Peter froze in place. 

“Kid?” Tony asked. “You alright?”

Peter looked from the workshop door to Tony’s face and then to the floor. He shook his head. “I don’t know if I can go in there,” he whispered. 

The workshop. The place that had been their shared sanctuary. The place where Tony had thrown a fit and verbally abused the Kid. Tony could feel his stomach twist and his heart break. 

Tony reached out to put a hand on Peter’s shoulder and the boy stumbled back, away from him. The man dropped his arm. 

“I’m sorry. I won’t touch you,” Tony kept his voice low and he tried to sound reassuring. “Dr. Sterling said this might happen, remember?”

Peter nodded. He was working to breathe at a steady rate, trying to stave off a panic attack. 

“That’s good, keep breathing,” Tony encouraged. “Do you want me to call Bruce or Rhodey to come down?”

Peter shook his head. “No,” he whispered hoarsely. “Just give me a minute.”

“Take your time, Pete. There’s no rush,” Tony tried to stay calm, despite the deep pain of knowing he had caused this. 

For several minutes, the only sound in the corridor was Peter’s deep breaths. 

“Okay,” the Kid said quietly. “I’m ready.” 

They entered the workshop slowly, Tony let Peter take the lead. The boy moved cautiously and looked around carefully. Tony didn’t rush him and gave the Kid the space he needed to move around the room. 

Eventually Peter settled in to his usual workspace. He opened a bin and pulled out the Roomba and its loose components. 

“Can I use your tools?” Peter asked softly,, without looking at him. 

“You can use anything you want, Pete. I’m not going to yell at you and I’m not going to hurt you. You’re safe here.” Tony desperately hoped the Kid believed him. 

After a while, Peter started working on the Roomba. He started to relax and feel comfortable in the space again. Tony moved to his own work area, but kept a close eye on the teen. 

They worked in silence for a while. Then Peter suddenly said, “I like Dr. Sterling. She’s really nice and smart.”

Tony smiled gently. “I like her too. Is she helping you?”

“Yeah,” Peter replied in a low voice. 

“Do you want to tell me about it?” Tony asked. Then, suddenly worried that he had overstepped a boundary, he added, “you don’t have to.”

Peter considered for a moment, then started, “I’m not supposed to be like this…” 

Tony frowned. That didn’t sound like progress. “Peter…”

The boy shook his head. “No, it’s okay, Mr. Stark. It’s alright for me to wonder about who I would have been if my parents hadn’t died. But I can’t let that stop me from being the person I am now. Some bad stuff has happened to me. I’m not supposed to be like this, but it’s okay.”

“Okay?” Tony echoed as he tried to understand what the Kid was saying. “What do you mean it’s okay?”

Peter shrugged. Then he turned back to the project he was working on. 

It took Tony a moment to think back on the conversation they had on the ceiling when Peter had first told him about his plans for the anti-gravity Roomba. _Just because something is damaged doesn’t mean it isn’t still worthwhile._ At the time, Tony had gotten a vague impression that Peter was talking about more than the things he found dumpster diving. But Tony hadn’t understood the full meaning. 

Peter had been talking about himself. Tony could see that now. 

Tony watched as Peter worked on the treasure he had pulled from the trash. He asked, “How’s the anti-gravity Roomba coming along?” Tony walked over to stand close to Peter, but not too close. 

Peter smirked. He knew the apparent change of subject wasn’t really a change of subject. “It’s making progress. There’s a long way to go. There are still a few issues I need to solve, but I’ve got some new ideas on how to get there.” 

“I bet it’ll be amazing,” Tony said fondly. 

“Well, it will be unique among Roomba-kind, that’s for sure,” Peter said, as he made fine adjustments to one of the components. 

“It’ll go places and do things other Roombas can only dream about,” Tony said. 

Peter didn’t look up from his work. “What if the other other Roombas hate it and think it’s a freak?” The boy’s light tone almost hid his anxiety. He was stretching the metaphor, but he needed to know. 

“Then the other Roombas are assholes. But the other Roombas won’t really hate it. They would only say that because they were afraid… because of their own insecurities. They’ll learn to face those fears and move past them.” Tony replied in a low voice tinged with shame. 

Peter nodded, accepting the answer. 

After a moment, Tony reached out and affectionately tapped the Roomba’s cover, which sat close to Peter’s elbow. The boy flinched a little at the movement, but they both ignored it. 

“What are you going to do about the casing?” Tony asked, pointing to the large cracks. 

Peter glanced over at it. “I made a polymer that will fix those. You’ll always be able to tell it was damaged, but it’ll be stronger than before.” 

Tony thought about that for a minute. How things that were damaged were still worthwhile. A Roomba with broken circuitry and a cracked casing. An orphaned kid raised in poverty and exposed to violence and grief at far too young an age. A spoiled, middle aged man with a chest full of shrapnel and a history of alcohol abuse. All of them were damaged, but could be made stronger than they were before. 

Peter changed tools, moved on to another part of the wiring. He asked, “Do you still think I should have used a new Roomba? Instead of one I found dumpster diving?” 

The man shook his head, “No. Some people might think this was trash, but it’s really just on its way to doing something extraordinary. Sometimes things don’t reach their full potential until after they’ve been broken.” 

Now Peter did look up and he grinned at his mentor. They understood each other. 

Before either of them could say anything more, Tony’s stomach rumbled loudly, startling both of them. And a moment later, Peter’s did too. 

They both laughed. 

“Come on, Spiderling, let's go find something to eat.”

As they walked out of the workshop, Tony glanced back at Peter’s work on the anti-gravity Roomba. It was still very much a work in progress. 

_I’m not supposed to be like this, but it’s okay._

Roombas weren’t supposed to vacuum the ceiling. Teenagers weren’t supposed to be superpowered and stick to walls. Middle aged rich guys weren’t supposed to fly around in metal suits. But they did and it was okay. 

_I’m not supposed to be like this, but it’s okay. Okay?_

Tony put an arm around the Kid’s shoulders. This time, Peter smiled and leaned into him. 

They were still very much a work in progress, but they were going to be okay. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where the story ends. Thanks to all for reading and leaving comments and kudos. I’ve enjoyed writing this story a lot, although I think it falls short of really dealing with the issues as much as I had hoped. I feel the same way about “More Than A Weapon”, so I think it has to do with my lack of patience as a writer. But I’m working on that. We’re all works in progress.


End file.
